Devil Rays honor Minor Leaguers
The Rays also announced the 2006 Player and Pitcher of the Year for each of their six Minor League affiliates. Each of the winners was honored during an awards ceremony prior to Friday's game against the Yankees.
Brignac, 20, combined to hit .321 with 24 home runs and 99 RBIs at Class A Advanced Visalia and Double-A Montgomery, the fourth-highest average among all Minor League shortstops and second-best among Rays farmhands this season.
A second-round round pick in the 2004 First-Year Player Draft, Brignac ranked in the top 10 among all Minor Leaguers with 167 hits (sixth), 100 runs (ninth) and 281 total bases (sixth). He was named the California League's Most Valuable Player as well as Rookie of the Year, despite a promotion to Montgomery in early August. He also was awarded the Rays' Minor League Player of the Month in April and June, the only farmhand to receive the honor twice this season.
"It's very exciting," Brignac said of his award. "I'm hoping I can be here in a couple of years, playing instead of watching. We'll see how that goes. ... Coming into the year, I felt really good. I came in at a good weight I wanted to be at. ... I really got in a good hitting swing before Spring Training, and I just tried to stay consistent all year long and did.
"I feel like I'm on the right path right now. We'll see how things go."
Sonnanstine, a 23-year-old right-hander, was 15-8 with a staff-best 2.67 ERA and a team-high 153 strikeouts with the Montgomery Biscuits. His 15 victories set a Rays' Minor League single-season record and tied for most wins in all of Double-A. His team-high 185 2/3 innings pitched were the second-most among all Minor Leaguers and the second-highest total ever by a Rays Minor Leaguer, behind only Pablo Ortega's 188 2/3 in 1997. The Southern League tabbed him as the top right-handed pitcher in 2006 and Baseball America's Best Tools Survey awarded him best control in the Southern League.
"I've had good command this season," Sonnanstine said. "It gets on my nerves whenever I walk somebody."
He also garnered the organization's July Pitcher of the Month and the Topps Southern League Player of the Month for July after going 6-0 with a 1.35 ERA and 39 strikeouts in 46 2/3 innings.
The 2006 award winners include the following:
Durham Bulls
• Player of the Year: INF/DH Kevin Witt
• Pitcher of the Year: RHP Juan Salas
Montgomery Biscuits
• Player of the Year: INF Elliot Johnson
• Pitcher of the Year: RHP Andy Sonnanstine
Visalia Oaks
• Player of the Year: OF Fernando Perez
• Pitcher of the Year: LHP James Houser
Southwest Michigan Devil Rays
• Player of the Year: OF J.T. Hall
• Pitcher of the Year: LHP Jacob McGee
Hudson Valley Renegades
• Player of the Year: OF Ryan Royster
• Pitcher of the Year: LHP Jeremy Hellickson
Princeton Rays
• Player of the Year: C Nevin Ashley
• Pitcher of the Year: LHP Ryan Morse
Bill Chastain is a reporter for MLB.com.